Bring back Casper (and other forgotten baby names)

My wife just e-mailed me this story, about two New Zealand parents who are naming their son Superman, after their first choice 4Real was rejected by the government.

raiders.com

Raiders receiver Dave Casper. Technically it was his last name, but still …

Are we really so short on good baby names that we have to keep inventing the most pretentious names possible? If we continue naming our kids things like Dillinger and Panache, will there be enough hospital space in the year 2020 for all the kids getting their asses kicked in middle schools across America?

My suggestion: Let’s bring back some classic names. Before my son was born, I really wanted to name him Roscoe, which hasn’t appeared in the Social Security Administration Top 1,000 since 1978. Once he was born, I realized he looked a lot more like an Otis, a completely awesome name that hasn’t been in the Top 1,000 since 1994. (The wife exercised her veto on both. We went with Theo.)

Probably my current favorite comeback baby name was brought to me by colleague Justin Berton, who recently asked where all the Caspers have gone. That name hasn’t been on the SSA list since the Herbert Hoover administration. (Hmmm … I’m adding Herbert to the list.)

What other classic names are due for a comeback? I’ve listed some more of my favorites after “Read More.”

sorrisi.com

Should we add Mel to the list?

I’m also nominating any name associated with waitressing from the 1930s to 1970s (Mabel, Alice, Flo, Vera …), the boy name Roy and the girl names Mildred and Ida.

(I was thinking about adding Ethel or Minnie, but I want The Poop readers to take me seriously on this.)

And has enough time passed to bring back Adolph? Take away that whole worst-dictator-in-modern-world-history thing, and it’s kind of a cute name for a boy.